


Free By Force

by Chloe_Hallow_Eve



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Past Abuse, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-14 08:18:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5736427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe_Hallow_Eve/pseuds/Chloe_Hallow_Eve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Pacifist route, but the barrier didn't break and Frisk left with an extra passenger. Frisk was nine when they first fell. They’re now twenty, and going back to the barrier to break it once and for good, with the magic that they spent eleven years perfecting and expanding. Of course, Frisk had to get on the governments good side to convince them to let the monsters back up, and they can’t stop now that they've started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Barrier

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Angst Hell

The forest was quiet. Much quieter than usual, if anything. The animals had stopped skittering, and the air wouldn’t puff the leaves in a musical dance. It was as if the forest of Mt. Ebbot was holding its breath in anticipation, waiting, watching the young adult make their way to the side of the mountain that faced the sunset. It was as if the mountain knew what they were about to do, and had silenced any distraction. This was, of course, going to be quite the accomplishment.

The adult was going to attempt to break the barrier separating monsters and humans on their own.

What is the name of said brave human? Well, they’ve gone by many names by this point, and even more last names. But they do remember their first name, the name they had before they fell into the Underground. The one that had been given to them at birth, Francesca. Of course, they had hated that name, and promptly changed it to Frisk when they could.

Frisk marched through the woods, bushwhacking their way to the barrier. All they had on them were their clothes- a blue and purple sweater that was just a larger version of the one they had fallen in, accompanied by black tights and black combat boots- their phone, and their ID card. Of course, they weren’t stupid, and had someone waiting at a rendezvous point to come and get them if they didn’t show up at high noon. Frisk paused to look at the sky, brushing their long brown hair out of their eyes and shielding the light from their face. They had about two hours before they needed to be there. Frisk continued on, a bit quicker this time.

It had been so long, so many years of preparation that Frisk had the entire scenario played out in their mind. There were a couple different outcomes, but Frisk had always favoured the one where everyone hugged them and said they missed them and maybe cried a bit. Then, they’d go to Frisks house, and have some butterscotch-cinnamon pie and tea while catching up. Of course, Frisk knew thing’s wouldn’t go exactly like that, but they hoped it would be similar. They brushed their hands through their hair as they walked, stomach doing backflips. They really hoped this would go well.

Once they arrived at the barrier, still as warped and mind-bending as it was eleven years ago, they paused. They fiddled with their hair a bit more aggressively, feeling their nerves buzzing. Things could go wrong. So horribly, horribly wrong. Frisk felt their breath shorten and had to take a seat where they were.

They took out their phone, fumbling to unlock it, and went into their messages. There was only one that was saved. Frisk pressed it, calming down when a familiar lazy, drawling voice came out of the speaker. They’d listened to this message so many times they’d memorized it, and found themselves mouthing along with the words.

“heya. is anyone there…? well, i’ll just leave a message….”

Frisk had always regretted not picking up.

“so… it’s been a while. the queen returned, but mostly helps out at our school. she does help the king, but only when she needs to, ya know? well, they’ve instated a new policy. any humans who fall down here will be treated not as enemies… but as friends. it’s probably for the best, anyway.”

Frisk always smiled sadly at that part. Almost as soon as they’d come back out of the Underground, a fence had been put up at the cave entrance, so no humans had fallen since themselves. They hadn’t had a chance to put that policy to the test.

“the human souls the king collected… seem to have disappeared. so, uh, that plan ain’t happening any time soon. but even though things are looking grim for our freedom... the king and queen are trying their best to not let us give up hope. so, uh, if we’re not giving up down here…. don’t give up wherever you are, ok? who knows how long it will take… but we will get out of here.”

Frisk stopped it there, before the others joined in. They couldn’t stop themselves for smiling, sending a silent apology through the phone for taking so long to return. Frisk stood. The words of encouragement their old friend had spoken….

They filled Frisk with DETERMINATION.

* * *

Breathe evenly, through the nose and out of the mouth. Count how many seconds it takes to breathe in, then out. Try to make the breaths take ten seconds in and eight seconds out. Clear the mind, and relax the muscles. Feel the ground beneath, feel the muscles working and the blood pumping, feel the heart working hard, feel the energy around, and reach for the energy inside.

Tap into the SOUL.

Feel the power of the SOUL, and draw upon it. Focus clearly on the task, imagining it becoming reality. Let the image get stronger and stronger until it is reality.

BREAK THE BARRIER.

* * *

Frisk felt when the barrier broke. They felt it crack, splinter, and then shatter into nothing. Frisks next breath was shuddering, tired, but relieved. Frisk smiled at the open cave, slowly stumbling to their feet.

They watched the entrance, expecting something to come out. Nothing did. As the minutes ticked on, Frisk felt concern creep through their exhaustion, and wobbled forwards. At least one monster would have noticed the absence of the barrier. Maybe the closest monster was outside of the castle. That had to be it. But, just to be sure….

Frisk walked into the Underground, one arm wrapped tightly around their stomach and the other using the cave wall as a support. They hobbled their way into the throne room, happy to see the second throne that had previously been shoved to the back of the room was sitting next to the original. The place was still filled with buttercups. There was also, oddly enough, a blue ball near the centre of the room. Frisk hadn’t really expected anyone to be in this room. Maybe they were at the house starting the castle? It was the best Frisk could hope for.

The next room was the Judgement Hall. Frisk could remember the texture of the floor, cold and smooth, against their cheek. Could spot the area of the roof where their back had hit the ceiling. Knew the sight of their blood splattered across the walls. Frisk could almost see the scene again, them standing at the end with their old friend in their way, clutching a dusty knife. They remembered dodging bones after bones, dying more times than they could count, could almost feel the bones sinking into their sensitive skin towards their soul.

**_“do you wanna have a bad time?”_ **

Frisks breathing ceased. They could still see those cold, empty eyes, staring right into their core…

**_“on days like these kids like you…. s h o u l d  b e  b u r n i n g  i n  h e l l.”_ **

Frisk sunk to their knees, edges of their vision fuzzing with black dots. They blinked rapidly, gripping the material of their sweater tightly. Frisk shut their eyes tightly, forcing air into their lungs, counting slowly. In, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Out, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Repeat. That was in a different time line. That never happened, technically. Everyone was alive, probably. At the very least, Frisk hadn’t killed any of them. Frisk slowly released their stiff hands from their sweater, moving to brush at their hair gently, using the waist long locks as a kind of screen between them and their memories. Once Frisk calmed down, they opened their eyes. The hall was just a hall unless they made it something else. There was nothing to worry about.

Frisk struggled to their feet once again, and walked forwards. Artificial sun light from the core shone through the stain glass windows, casting different colours across the floor. They remembered it all so well. Frisk sighed, trying to shake the left over stress in their system. It worked a little.

Frisk took a few more steps, walking to the middle of the room, before warnings started going off in their head. The stopped walking, staring ahead, and using their ears to pick up anything. There was nothing. Frisk thought they might just be paranoid, but when they took a couple more steps, there was the distinct sound of a second pair of feet matching their own. They stopped as soon as Frisk stopped. Frisks instincts kicked in, making Frisk run for the end of the hall. They almost got there before their feet refused to move any more. Frisk knew this scene was familiar, and knew who was probably doing this, but that didn’t make the experience any less terrifying. Their ears picked up on the sound of soft footsteps approaching, and the voice that they had missed.

“h u m a n ,  h o w  d i d  y o u  g e t  h e r e ?”

They didn’t, however, miss hearing that tone.

Frisks hands came up instinctively, going to start signing. Then they realized half way through the sentence that monsters didn’t know sign. Frisk dropped their hands, contemplating actually speaking as they had when they had first fallen, but hadn’t spoken in so long they weren’t even sure their voice still worked.

The monster behind them chuckled without humour, seeming to accept the fact that they wouldn’t get an answer. “t u r n  a r o u n d .”

Frisk did so slowly, peaking at the person from behind their hair before turning completely. The monster was a short, squat skeleton that wasn’t completely anatomically correct. They wore a blue coat over a white turtle neck, black basketball shorts, and pink fuzzy slippers. They were white last time Frisk saw them. The skeleton’s eye sockets were two voids, something that sent shivers up Frisks back, but they were so glad to see him again that they didn’t mind that much.

Frisk swallowed, opened their mouth, and tried to talk. It came out as a wheeze first, and Frisk scrunched up their face, but forced their vocals to work. It took a few moments of them trying and the skeleton being surprisingly patient before Frisk managed to get anything out.

“S……..Ssssnnn……..Ssaaanss.” Their voice was extremely raspy and quiet, but they managed to get it out.

The permanent grin on Sans’ face dropped considerably, and the pin pricks of light Frisk remembered came back, but they were tiny in his skull. He looked both baffled and like a suspicion of his was confirmed. Frisk smiled nervously, but brightly at their friend. Sans relaxed a bit, and closed his eyes. He didn’t open them for a while, but Frisk stayed patient, just as Sans had with them. When he did open them again, he was smiling widely back at Frisk, face full of more emotion than Frisk was used to seeing.

“heh. welcome back, kiddo.”

Sans face turned back to surprise when Frisk almost literally ran him over with a hug.

* * *

A/N: So this first chapter is going to be shorter than the rest, since this is just the beginning, the chapter that lets you know what your getting into a bit. Be prepared for more!


	2. Hello Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk finds everything is not how they left it, and for the better...?

Frisk didn’t let go of Sans for a long while. Sans let them hug him for that long while, hugging back. Frisk suspected Sans wasn’t just letting them hug him for their sake, but didn’t point it out. They pulled away eventually, though Sans kept his hands on Frisks shoulders.

“where have you been, kid?” Sans voice wavered slightly.

Frisk wanted so badly to tell him everything, but knew they couldn’t get much use out of their voice. So they just shrugged. Sans hummed, letting his hands slip into his pockets. There was a long pause, in which they just enjoyed each other’s company. Once Frisk felt it was appropriate, they turned and motioned for Sans to come along, starting to walk to the end of the hall. Sans chuckled, but didn’t follow, causing Frisk to pause and turn.

“i’ll take a shortcut. you go on, the king and queen are in their house waiting for me to report back. you gave us quite a scare, shattering the barrier like that out of the blue.” He chuckled again. “well, see ya there.”

Frisk nodded, turned, and started walking. They didn’t need to turn around to know Sans had disappeared. The familiarity of the situation made them smile.

The walk through New Home was long, since all of the elevators were deactivated. It also gave Frisk time to think.

It had been eleven years since they’d seen everyone. Would they react the same way as Sans had? Did they even remember them? The thought of their friends forgetting them was scarier than the thought of them being mad. Frisk had been through so many resets that they were sure if they saw unrecognition in anyone’s eyes when looking at them they’d have a panic attack right there. Frisk started playing with their hair again, staring at the corner they were about to turn.

This was the last corner to go around before they were at the replica of mom’s house in the Ruins. They seemed to be approaching it too quickly. They weren’t sure they were ready. They weren’t sure they’d ever be ready. All of their negative thoughts slowed Frisk enough to stop just before turning. They took deep breaths, trying to calm down for what felt like the millionth time that day. Frisk tried to focus on the positive thoughts they could have, but were distracted by loud voices.

“Are- are you sure? You’re not mistaken?”

“tori, i am one hundred percent sure. look, would i lie to you two about this?”

“No, no you wouldn’t…. But….”

Before Frisks brain could catch up with their body, they had darted from behind the wall, eyes frantically trying to find the source of the voice. When they landed on one- no, two- tall, goat like creatures, Frisk couldn’t control the sob that came out of their throat. The one who looked more feminine, who wore a purple dress over a while turtleneck, snapped their head in their direction. Frisk and her met eyes, and Frisk could see the onslaught of emotions attacking the pour woman internally. The male, who was in a sweater and a pair of comfortable looking black pants and even with horns the size of swords looked friendly, noticed the female’s movement and followed their line of gaze to them, and had about the same reaction. Frisks gaze switched between the two, rested on Sans for about a second, then went back. These were their parents. The same exact people. The two looked slightly different, maybe slightly worn, but Frisk didn’t process what that could mean before they were sprinting through the long hallway towards them.

Toriel and Asgore met them half way there.

The hug Frisk received was probably the best one they’d had in their entire lives. Both goat parents wrapped them tightly up in their fluffy arms, tears streaming from their eyes. Frisk wasn’t sure they even noticed they were crying. Frisk didn’t notice their own tears until they were smeared on their face when they buried their head in Toriel’s shirt. It smelt of cinnamon and butterscotch, of home. They moved their head to Asgore next, doing the same nuzzling motion, catching waves of flowers and herbal tea in their nose, the smell of safety. Both scents, equal parts comforting and memory-evoking, caused Frisk to sob harder. Sans stood back and watched, a soft smile tugging at his mouth.

“Oh my dear, dear child.” Toriel gasped. “You’re back. You’re safe. Oh, my child.”

Asgore just shook his head and ducked it to rest on the top of Frisks. They stayed like that, clinging to one another, until a small voice called out.

“Mom? Dad? What’s going on?”

Frisk looked up quickly at the new voice. It was soft, cautious, and familiar. Frisks breath left them, because standing in the doorway to the house, stood Asriel.

Frisk blinked quickly, shaking their head slightly, and the small monster changed slightly. They weren’t Asriel, but they definitely looked like him. For one, their eyes were definitely not as soft as Asriel’s had ever been. Their face and body also weren’t as young as Asriel’s, but it was male. They wore a zipped up dark green hoodie and black pants, missing any trace of yellow. When Frisk shifted their gaze slightly, they could see a similar small goat monster peeking from around the wall. Their expression matched Asriel’s, but they looked much more feminine, and their body and face were closer in resemblance to the male than Asriel. She wore a yellow sun dress, complimenting her brothers sweater, but didn’t have green on herself otherwise. Frisk stared at them, and they stared back. Frisk’s brain went from one to one hundred in a split second.

These two were Toriel and Asgore’s kids. They had more. They were _back together._ Frisks gaze swivelled from Toriel, to Asgore, to the children, then to Sans. Toriel and Asgore looked slightly sheepish, Toriel holding some maternal worry as well. Sans avoided Frisks gaze when they tried to catch his eye. The children just looked confused as to why their parents was hugging some person.

Frisk didn’t want to let go, and it was obvious that Toriel and Asgore didn’t want to either, but they unravelled. Toriel quickly walked over to the children, as Asgore hung back.

“My children, I told you to wait upstairs.”

“You were taking too long!” The femal piped up, her voice was much louder than any of the Dreemur’s.

Toriel placed her hands on their shoulders, said something too quietly for Frisk to hear, then lead them out of the house a bit. She made them stand in front of her, facing Frisk, and placed her hands on their heads.

“Frisk, these are our, Asgore and mine’s, children. These are Tagar,” she nodded to the female, who just blinked, “and her twin brother, Astor.” She motioned to the male, who frowned. “My children, this is Frisk, your elder sibling.”

Frisk almost collapsed, hearing Toriel say she still considered them her child. The kids, on the other hand, let their jaws drop in sync.

“What?! Mom! Why’d you never tell us?” Astor whined, turning and tugging at Toriel’s dress.

Tagar gasped dramatically and started giggling, running over to Frisk and immediately clinging to their hand. “Big Sib! Big Sib! I always wanted an older sibling! But I’m the older twin and it’s kind of not possible to get an older sis or bro after your born so this is awesome!”

Frisk smiled politely, not sure what to do. Tagar seemed to pick up that Frisk didn’t like to talk, or couldn’t, since she started filling in the gaps.

“Uncle Pap is gonna be super excited! So will Aunt ‘Dyne! They’ve been waited for, like, EVER for a human to fall down here and shower in greetings. Come on! Aunt ‘Dyne is just upstairs! Asty and I snuck down here without her noticing.” Tagar giggled at that, and started dragging Frisk towards the door. “Come on, come on!”

Frisk had been allowing Tagar to drag them, until they processed who ‘Aunt ‘Dyne’ was. Then planted their feet firmly to the ground, refusing to budge, causing Tagar to be yanked back into them with an ‘oof’. She looked up with her brows scrunched, mouth open to protest, but stopped when she saw the blatant panic in Frisks eyes.

The others picked up on it as well.

“Frisk? Are you alright?” Asgore, who was slightly behind Frisk, placed a calm hand on their shoulder.

Frisk didn’t reply, instead shaking their head a bit and trying to back up. Astor came over and forced Tagar to release her grip on Frisks hand, pulling her back to Toriel with a cautious look. Tagar protested quietly. Toriel looked as if she wanted to help, but she placed her hands on her children’s shoulders again, knowing it was probably best to keep them here.

Of all the people Frisk was worried of seeing again it had been….Well, Sans, but Undyne was a close second. Frisk was positive Undyne would be angry at them, if she even remembered, and wasn’t sure they were emotionally prepared for that right now. They stared brushing their hands through their hair, slowly creating a screen between them and everyone else. They only stopped when a bony hand took one of their hands.

“it’s alright, kid. it’ll be fine. don’t worry, cause we’ve all missed you a lot, kay?”

Frisk gave Sans a look that plainly stated they didn’t believe him. Sans sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

“trust me on this one, okay?”

Frisk looked at the ground. They were still worried beyond belief….. but with their friends encouraging words…. Frisk found the DETERMINATION to continue forth, and face their remaining friends.

Which was probably good timing, since Undyne practically flew out of the house panting. She spotted the twins instantly, grabbed them by the back of their shirts, and lifted them. Both kids squealed.

“YOU LITTLE PUNKS!” Undyne roared, shaking them in her grip. “YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOWN HERE!!!”

“BUT ‘DYNE!” Tagar shouted, equally loud. “WE FOUND A BIG SIBLING AND WE’RE FINE!!!”

“NO EXCUSES! YOU WILL DO ONE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND ALL OF WATERFALL AS PUNISHMENT!”

“I demand a lawyer! This is outrageous!” Astor said, voice just barely above a normal speaking level. “You will hear from my people!”

Undyne laughed heartedly, grinning, and began to walk back upstairs. She was halfway up them when she stopped. She slowly put the twins down. “Wait, big sibling?” Her voice was much, much quieter than anyone had ever heard it.

Tagar and Astor exchanged a look, nodded, and pointed to something behind her. Undyne slowly turned, eyes landing on Frisk without a problem. She stared. Frisk stared back. It occurred to Frisk that there was a lot of staring going on.

It also occurred to Frisk, a moment too late, that Undyne had gotten much faster.

Undyne had them in a headlock before they could do, or even think, anything. Frisk couldn’t get out of it even if they tried. They just let Undyne noogy them, flinching at the pain a tiny bit.

“YOU NERD!!!” Undyne’s voice had hit an all-time new loud. “DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT’S BEEN?! ELEVEN YEARS!!! ELEVEN. GOD DAMN. YEARS!!!!!”

Frisk flailed and tried to find some way of apologising, but whatever sound they made was a garbled mess that hurt their throat, so they gave up. They also gave up when they felt something wet hit the back of their lowered head. The hand giving Frisk a noogy disappeared, and Frisk ignored the small sniffs. When they were let up, they pretended that Undyne’s eyes weren’t the tiniest bit red and wet.

Undyne kept a hand on their shoulder. “God, look at you. You’re still a squirt.” Frisk glared at Undyne. She just laughed, but it was forced. “You’re hair’s a mess. C’mon, lets go upstairs, and you can explain yourself while I try to tame this giant birds nest.”

Frisk wasn’t sure how well they’d be able to explain themselves with a voice that no longer functioned, but agreed anyways. Anything to be with their dear friends.

Anything to give them some more time before encountering the rest of the monsters they held dear.


	3. No One Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk forgot to tell the monsters that they hadn't come alone, or who they brought. That might have been important to mention. Whoops.

Chapter 3: No One Left Behind

 

The seven of them were scattered around the living room. Undyne had placed herself behind Frisk, who sat at the table, a brush in one hand, the tangled mess that was Frisks hair in the other. She started with the ends, wanting to make this as easy as possible. Toriel was sitting in her arm chair, Astor in her lap, while Asgore sat nearby, Tagar in his. Sans had placed himself at the other end of the table, and was observing Frisk closely. Frisk was more or less relaxed, but would twitch whenever Undyne tugged a little too hard on their hair, to which she apologised for each time.

They sat in silence, and Frisk hoped that they had forgotten about interrogating them, but it seemed they were just giving Frisk time to adjust.

“So, punk, where have you been all this time?” Undyne asked, the first to speak since coming upstairs.

Frisk opened their mouth, made the equivalent of a hissing moan, and snapped their mouth shut so fast their teeth clacked. They placed a hand on their throat, which burned, and grimaced. A cup of water was suddenly thrust at their face, blue magic outlining the cup. Frisk blinked at Sans, who just gave them a wink and a grin. They nodded to him gratefully, and took the water out of the air, and took small sips.

“My child, when was the last time you spoke?” The pure concern in Toriels voice made Frisk flinch.

Frisk knew they couldn’t bear to lie to their friends, no matter how much they wanted to. They slowly brought their hands up, all fingers extended. Asgore and Toriel took sharp intakes of breath at the same time, their children squirming in their lap uncomfortably as both their parents tightened their holds. Undyne went still behind Frisk for a moment, but then continued, trying to act normal. Sans almost didn’t react, but his eye lights did disappear for a quick moment. Frisk waited patiently, but they didn’t know what for.

Toriel slowly set Astor on the ground. “My child, take your sister and play in your room for a bit.” She seemed to finally understand that this discussion would be hard, and not one she wanted her children to hear. Even if she wanted them close for comfort.

Asgore followed his wife’s example, placing Tagar down gently. Astor nodded stiffly, taking his twin’s hand and tugging her gently to the hallway. Once they heard the bedroom door shut, Toriel finally spoke up.

“My child, why haven’t you spoken for so long? Isn’t that horrible for your health?”

Frisk lowered their gaze to their hands, which, without hair to fiddle with, settled for picking at their own nails under the table. They shrugged, eyes glued to one nail that was now hanging stubbornly half of and wouldn’t budge past that. Frisk snatched it and ripped it off quickly, not caring for the bit of blood at the end of their nail bed. Frisk felt Undyne, the only one who could possibly see Frisks hands, stiffen.

“come on, kid, throw us a bone.”

Frisk glanced at Sans, a smile tugging at their lips. He grinned back, but it was definitely strained. He leaned his head in one skeletal palm.

“hey, i have an idea. we ask you yes or no questions, and you answer them. sound fair?”

Frisk nodded.

“good. so, who wants to go first?”

“May I?” Toriel waited for Sans to nod before continuing. “Has someone been taking care of you all this time?”

Frisk nodded slowly.

“Are they your parents?”

Frisk shook their head quickly.

“A relative?”

Another quick shake of the head.

Toriel’s brows furrowed. Asgore took her hand, seeing his wife’s distress. Toriel gave his hand a squeeze. Sans picked up the questioning where she left off.

“how old are you anyways, kid?”

Frisk stopped picking at their nails to flash Sans two sets of ten. His eyes widened a fraction.

“wow, seems like you grew into your bones.”

Frisk snorted. Undyne worked the brush half way up their hair and down. Her hands moved slower than before.

“How’d you break the barrier?” Her voice was so uncharacteristically quiet, Frisk almost missed the question.

And if everyone in the room hadn’t been staring at them, they certainly were now. Frisk felt their mouth go dry.

Sans, bless him, caught on instantly on how uncomfortable they were. “undyne, that wasn’t a yes or no question.”

Undyne gave Sans a look, but dropped it. The room was filled with a tense silence, the only sound being the brush sweeping through Frisks hair. In the silence, Frisk had a chance to think. They still had the rest of the monsters to collect before they went back above ground. Even then, it would take two days to walk all the way back to where Frisk had set up lodging for them all. Plus the detour they would have to take, to meet up with-

Oh god.

_Oh god._

Frisks usually squinted eyes popped wide open, startling Sans, who had still been observing them. Frisk quickly tapped a finger to their wrist, looking around at everyone, thankful that the ASL sign for time was so easy to understand. Toriel blinked, but took out her phone anyways. It was much fancier than her previous one. Frisk guessed Alphys had upgraded it.

“Almost two o’clock, why?”

Frisk stood up so quickly the brush stuck into their hair, Undyne blinking at the hand that had previously been holding it. The human took off towards the door, wasting no time in flinging it open and taking off towards Hotland. There were shouts behind them, but they paid them no mind as they ran ahead. They sprinted all the way to Alphys’ lab, barely winded. They knocked hastily, hearing someone, probably Undyne, running up behind them.

“Holy hell, punk, what-“

Before she could say anything, the lab door slid open to reveal a stout lizard monster, wearing a simple lab coat. They spotted Undyne first, despite the fish monster being behind Frisk. She opened her mouth to greet her, spotted Frisk, and the words died in her throat.

Frisk didn’t give the poor woman time to process, they didn’t _have_ time to give anyone. Frisk quickly grabbed the lizard in a tight hug, to which she sputtered and failed at forming any coherent thoughts about, then dashed inside towards the control center.

“ALPHYS? WHO IS AT THE DOOR?”

“Alph, darling, is it your girlfriend? We could leave if you would like.”

“METTATON, WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STATIONED HERE IN CASE SOMEONE DANGEROUS COMES ALONG.”

“Oh I know, Papy, but it would be extremely rude of us not to offer.”

Frisk paused at the loud voices upstairs, but didn’t think too much about it before reaching the computer and tapping away at it. The sound of footsteps and voices followed them, but Frisk tuned it all out as white noise. They hacked into the shared server all monsters in the underground shared, and sent one simple message:

** The barrier has shattered **

There was the bursting sound of multiple ringtones going off all at once, then dead silence. The silence was heavy, anticipating. Then, louder than the collective ringtones, there was cheering all across the Underground.

Frisk could hear the celebrations from where they were. They listened to the relief, the joy, the hope, and found that they had never heard a more gratifying sound in their entire existence. The sound of the monsters happy, so, so happy……

It filled them with DETERMINATION.

They would have soaked in the moment more, but they had someone to meet. As soon as they were sure everyone knew, they raced right back out the lab door, heading right back the way they came. They danced around monsters and outstretched arms, ignored calls of their name, and ran as fast as they could back to the entrance. They stepped out, fully aware of the fact that there was a group of monsters following them, into the setting sun. They were confused for a moment, but then remembered that the Underground’s magic screwed with the perception of time between the over and underground. Which meant it was closer to six than two.

They were so screwed.

“My child! Why- what has gotten into you all of a sudden!?”

“c’mon, kid, mind updating us on what all that was?”

“HUMAN, I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN, AND HOPE FOR A PROPER GREETING, BUT MUST POINT OUT MY CONCERN FOR YOUR PREVIOUS BEHAVIOR!!!”

Frisk shook their head, signing absently what they couldn’t voice, looking around frantically across the treeline to their right. The cliff face in front of them showed a beautifully wooded area, without civilization for miles, but Frisk didn’t have time to appreciate that. They searched for a colour that stood out in the woods instead, racking their brain for an apology.

They didn’t have to find what they were looking for, because it stepped out of the woods a few seconds later.

Well, _they_ stepped out of the woods.

The person was tall, much taller than Frisk, who had grown to be just taller than Sans. They, on the other hand, were a full foot taller. They stood at their full height, intimidatingly. They wore sneakers, khaki shorts, and a green and yellow sweater in the true spirit of remembrance. Their skin was pale, littered with freckles, aside from Frisks slightly tan skin. A long neck was partially covered by dark ginger hair, which stopped choppily midway. It parted in the front for a round face, almost identical to Frisks own, but with more accented cheekbones and a crooked nose. They had bangs that stopped right above their eyebrows, and lower, a pair of piercing red eyes surrounded by short lashes. They had a phone clenched in one hand, a locket around their neck, and a bag on their back. And they stared right at Frisk.

Frisk took an involuntary step back at their burning gaze. This was it. The end of them.

They were going to die.

* * *

 

The forest was….. fluctuating. It was hard to describe, but the air was shaking, the atmosphere buzzing. It made the area around go in and out of focus, which was extremely annoying. When it had started, the lone person sitting at a camp site noticed instantly. It meant the plan had started, a bit late, but not late enough for it to matter. The lanky figure had checked their phone frequently, looking at the time constantly. Once it was twelve, they started to worry. But they trusted their team mate, and so waited another hour. Then they became fed up, collected their stuff, and ran off to the source of the disturbance.

They arrived, and watched the open cave, hidden, until forms ran out. The first one, predictably, was their partner, followed by a parade of monsters. They ignored the others as their hands moved quickly, looking around.

**Please don’t be mad please don’t be mad please don’t be mad**

That almost made them soften.

Almost.

You may ask yourself, who is this person, stepping out of the woods with a look that could kill? Well, they unfortunately decided to keep their given name since it wasn’t that bad, unlike Frisk, who had been unhappy with their gender-specific name. Although they did scrap their last name all together. They just went as Chara.

Chara stared at Frisk. Frisk stared back.

Chara dropped everything they were holding and charged the same moment Frisk started running.

“YOU PIECE OF SHIT I WILL FUCKING DESTROY YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU LOVE!!!!”

Frisk held their hands above their head as they ran. **You’d have to destroy yourself then** they said, complete with a heart at the end.

Chara ignored the comment. “TELL ME FRISK, WHERE ARE THE KNIVES?!”

Chara caught a glimpse of the monsters out of the corner of their eye as they ran past. Most of them didn’t know what was happening, conflicted between helping or not. Two goat monsters looked close to tears.

And one skeleton had a glowing blue eye.

Chara forced themselves to not cry or fall into their instinctual threatened mode.

Frisk managed to do a lap around the monsters standing outside, and partially to the forest, before Chara tackled them to the ground. Chara managed to position themselves on the ground, Frisk partially on them facing the sky, legs wrapped around their torso and one arm around their neck. The other formed a fist and mussed their hair into a birds nest. Frisk flailed unable to escape.

“I WAS WORRIED YOU SON OF A BITCH. YOU’RE LATE AS FUCK!!!”

**I’m sorry! But Chara-**

“DON’T ‘BUT CHARA’ ME! THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO YOUR TARDINESS!”

**Please stop messing my hair up! I’ve gotten enough of that already.**

Chara scowled, but complied. They moved their arms from a threatening position to a hug. Frisk twisted around enough to return the favour. Lying there, with their heads ducked together, Chara could whisper without fear of the others hearing.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Frisk smiled back at them.

“C-Chara?”

Chara sighed, head sinking even further down. Frisk’s shoulders shook in a giggle. They’d have to get up and face their past. With a sigh, Chara nodded for Frisk to get off of them. Frisk did so, pulling the other up with them. Chara took a breath, steeled their resolve, and faced their old parents. Their better parents.

They had to bite back the emotions that overtook them when they looked directly at the goat monsters. They hated having feelings again.

“Hey. How’s it going?”

The casualness of the sentence had Frisk break out into nervous giggles. Chara took their hand to keep it to just that.

“My child- how is it you- I…..” Toriel’s elegant words failed her, as they did rarely. Asgore took to saying nothing at all. Chara glanced down briefly to see two more spawns at their feet, but didn’t dwell on the fact. They all had time to catch up later.

Chara, still with Frisks in hand in theirs, walked to the things they dropped and picked them back up. Frisk tugged at them, and tilted their head slightly.

“You take them and head towards the rendezvous. I’ll go get him.”

**W-I-L-L-Y-O-U-B-E-O-K-A-Y** They signed slowly, using one hand. Chara gave a curt nod, leaning over to kiss their forehead quickly before pulling away and heading back towards the entrance to the Underground.

Chara heard the monsters leave, reluctantly, as they walked deeper and deeper into the tunnels. They didn’t stop in New Home, or Hotland, didn’t pause in Waterfall or Snowdin. They bypassed the entrance to the Ruins entirely, and didn’t stop until they reached the very first place they remembered of the Underground. The cave filled with buttercups. The walk was long, and would have been winding to anyone unused to travelling long distances. Luckily Chara was used to trekking even longer distances.

Once he reached his destination, eyes firmly attached to the larger flower hung over slightly. At the sound of footsteps, the flowers head quirked to one side, but didn’t lift.

“Frisk?”

Chara didn’t respond. At their silence, the flower slowly lifted their head, still turned to face the other way.

“How’d you get back? Last time I checked, this entrance was sealed off, and the barrier was still in place. Although, it feels like it’s gone now. I guess that was your doing, huh.”

Chara walked forward, allowing the flower to think what it would, and sat behind it.

“How long has it been? It feels like forever.” There was a pause. “You feel different.”

“There’s a reason for that.”

Chara would have laughed at how quickly the flower turned if the knowing guilt wasn’t eating at them still. The flowers eyes nearly popped out of his center. A multitude of emotions flickered in his supposedly-soulless eyes, before they settled on some kind of defeated anger.

“Frisk, what the hell? Do you think this is some kind of joke?” He asked softly. “Are you trying to torture me? Well, sorry to break it to you, I’ve been doing that myself enough.”

“Asriel-“

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” He boomed, suddenly much fiercer. His face morphed into an ugly snarl. “Who do you think you’re trying to fool, huh?! I can feel your soul, Frisk! No matter how much you cover it up! Do you think, after all this time, you can just waltz back in, pretending to be _them_ , and fix everything?! Or are you just rubbing it in my face!” He laughed bitterly. “You have a sick sense of humour.”

Chara stared at their brother calmly. Even after that outburst, they couldn’t feel anything but cool exhaberation and coiled guilt. They always had a clear mind speaking to Asriel, no matter the form. The difference was always how much they could care. Before they died, they had already been detached. They cared, more than they probably should have in that state, which lead them to make brash decisions. Bad decisions. Without a soul, caring was a foreign concept to them. Then Frisk sold their soul to them, and suddenly they cared too much about everything. They _felt_. Too much. Even now, they were still piggybacking on Frisks soul, except it had shaped differently to fit their personality and who they were as a person. They had gone through so much in terms of how they felt, and how much they felt, but Asriel always reminded them of what they were trying to do, how to do it, and gave them courage.

Even if that thing was less than pleasant.

In the time Chara was thinking, Asriel’s anger drained into a kind of despair. “You know how much they meant to me. How much they mean to me.” His head dipped low. “You know what it does to me.”

Chara’s hand found its way to grasp their locket. They twisted it a couple of times, before fishing into the duffle bag and pulling out the matching one. They had to really search for it, eleven years ago. They gently eased it over Asriel’s petals, resting the locket around his stem. He looked up hesitantly.

“Remember when you gave me this?” Chara pulled at the one around their own neck. “It was the year after you found me, a kind of celebration for my arrival, even though I thought it was pointless. Why celebrate finding me? If anything, I should have been celebrating finding you all. But you insisted that I accept the gifts. The locket, the sweater, the gardening supplies. I could never understand.” Chara shifted back through the duffel bag. “I guess I can now, to a certain degree. It’s been a long time. You cared, and wanted to show me that you did.” Chara stopped talking to pull out the flower pot and trowel they had in there. They turned back to Asriel, who’s face looked so much like its old one. He looked like he wanted to argue, to not believe that Chara was sitting in front of him, but he had nothing left in him. Tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes.

Chara smiled slightly, putting the supplies down. “Let me return the favour. Let’s go home, brother.”

Asriel’s leaves sagged further than they already had. He took a deep breath, then smiled back at Chara.

“Let’s be a family again.”

He knew he had a lot to explain, a lot to make up for, but this was an alright start.


End file.
